Fluorescent microspheres as tracer particles in dusty plasmas

Abstract

A technique has been developed to derive the dynamic properties of an ensemble of particles in dusty plasmas by using fluorescent tracer particles. The tracers form an integral part of the entire dust system. The dynamic properties of the dust system is reconstructed from the motion of the tracer. This technique allows long-duration experiments and is applied to a two-dimensional Coulomb cluster where the flow field, intershell rotation, and stagnation points of the flow have been identified.